William gilfillan



(model') w.- GILFILLALN.

SPRING HINGE;

No. 310,409. r Patented Jan. 6, 1885.

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I 1mm 9 (D D 1 a 7 7% v o 3], Z i ii mi; O a an w m UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

\VILLTAM GILFIL'LAN, OF NE HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO FlARCmNT &CO., OF SAVE PLACE.

SPRING-HINGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,409, dated January6, 1885.

A pplieation filed June 30, 183i.

1'0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1', WILLIAM GI.I.FILLAN, of N ew Haven, in the countyof New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvementin Spring-Hinges; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken inconnection with accompanying drawings and the letters of referencemarked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, andrepresent, in-- Figure 1, a face view of a three-part hinge showing thethree parts turned into the same plane Fig. 2, atransvcrsc sectionthrough the three parts cutting through the plane of the holes in oneear and through the pintle between the cars on the opposite side, andthe hinge as applied to a door.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of spring-hingesin which a spiral spring is arranged on the pintle, so as to apply itsforce between the two leaves of the hinge, and is an improvement uponthe invention for which Letters Patent were granted to me, assignor toSargent & Co., No. 262,400, dated August 8, 1882.

In my previous invention the principal object was to enable the removalof the power of the spring without entirely disconnecting the spring;and to accomplish the object, the two leaves of the hinge wereconstructed with corresponding ears near each end, so as to leavea spacebetween for the introduction of the spiral spring, a pintle introducedthrough the cars at one end and through the spiral spring into the carsat the opposite end,the pintle grooved so as to receive and hold one endof the spiral spring while the other rests against one of the leaves.The pintle was made movable longitudinally, it being constructed with ahead at one end to rest upon the ear of that leaf of the hinge on whichthe spring is to bear and the adjacent surfaces of the head of thepintle, and the ears were constructed with teeth in ratchet form, so asto interlock the one with the other, and so that the pintle could beturned to wind the spring and held by the teeth on the head and car whenproperly set or released by raising the pintle, so that the teeth on itshead might escape the notches in the ear. Vhilc ihlodcl.)

this construction accomplishes the object of ment from the ears below,or the proper engagementwith the notches and teeth.

The object of my present improvement upon my said invention is to avoidthe longitudinal movement of the pintle; and it consists in theconstruction as hereinafter described, and more particularly recited inthe claim.

In illustrating my invention 1 show it applied to a three-part hingethatis to say, a hinge upon which the door may swing either to the right orleft. i

In the illustration, A represents the stationaryjamb, and B the door.One leaf, C, ofthe hinge is fixed to thejamb. The other leaf,D,is fixedto the door. The intermediate leaf, E, is hung by one edge to one leaf,C, and by the other to the leaf D, and so that the door may swing ineither direction, as indicated in broken lines, and as in hinges of thisgeneral construction. The one lcal' D is constructed with an ear, F, atone end, and a corresponding ear, G, at the other end. The leaf E has anear, H, near its upper end, and a corresponding ear, J, near its otherend, the ears Hand J being constructed soas to enter between. the twocars F and G, and as in my previous patent, the space between the ears Hand J be ing left open to receive the spiral spring.

L is the pintle, which extends down through the ears,the ears beingbored for the purpose. That portion of the pintle between the ears H andJ is preferably made of triangular shape, as seen in Fig. 2, and on oneof its sides it is constructed with a longitudinal groove, (1, whichextends up to the top of the space be tween the two cars. Thatportion ofthe pintle which stands in the ears F H is of a diameter correspondingto the triangular portion of the pintle below. Thatportion of the pintlebelow the triangular portion is of less diameter, the holes through therespective ears correspond 111g.

The upper end of thepintlc is provided with an ornamental head or tip,M, constructed to rest upon the ear of theleaf D. At the other end itextends through the ear, its projecting portion screw-threaded. Ontothis a nut, N, is screwed, which nut corresponds in shape substantiallyto the head M at the opposite end. The nut thus screwed onto the pintleprevents longitudinal movement of the pintle. Between the two ears J Lthe spiral spring P is placed, and before the pintle is introduced oneend, I), rests against theleafE. The other end, (I, is turned inwardinto the groove a, as seen in Fig. 2, and so that the torsion power ofthe spring being resisted by the end I) resting against the leaf E,isimparted to the pintle, tending to rotate it. Into that portion of thepintle which stands in the ear F one or more radial holes, 0, are made,and through the ear F in the plane of the holes a a radial hole, f, ismade to receive a pin, h, and so that the pin h introduced through theholefin the car may enter the one of the holes which it happens to standin line with. The pin so entering two being introduced together.

the pintle couples the pintle with the leaf D, so that for the timebeing the leaf D turns with the pintle as if a permanent part of it.

Through the head M one or more holcs,Z,are made to receive one end of alever, and so that a person holding the lever may rotate the pintle itthe pin it be removed.

Vhen it is desired to set the spring, or increase or decrease itstension, the lever is applied into the hole Z in thehead of the pintle,and turned so as to relieve the pressure on the pin it. Then that pin iswithdrawn and the pintle turned untilthe required pressure is at tained.Then the pin 71 is reset to couple the pintle with the leaf D, and thisadjustment is made without longitudinal movement of the pintle.

The spiral spring is inclosed by a tubular casing, R, which may be madefrom sheet metal, and corresponding in diameter to the respective ears.The spring is placed within the cylinder before it is set into itsplace, the The cylinder ineloses and hides the spring, and gives to itthe appearance of a cylinder cast upon or formed as an integral part ofthe hinge, but being made separate from the hinge permits the removal orintroduction of the spring with greater facility than when the cylinderis made as a permanent part of the hinge.

In the ease of a hinge to swing in both directions, as shown,the thirdleaf is constructed the same as the leaf D,and the opposite side of theleaf E with corresponding ears, the pintle and spring being applied inlike manner, and substantially as in common three-part hinges.

I have illustrated the head as constructed with holes for theintroduction of a leaf as a convenient means for turning the pintle toadjust the spring, but it will be understood that any of the knownequivalents for such a hole may be substituted therefor.

From the foregoing it will be understood that I do not claim, broadly, aspring-hinge with the spring engaged with a pintle and one leaf, thepintle made adjustable so as to increase or adjust the tension of thespring; but

\Vhat I do claim is In a spring-hinge, the combination of the leavesconstructed with their respective ears F G and H J,with the pintle L,having a longitudinal groove, a, and extending through the ears to forma bearing on which the leaves will turn, the pintle constructed with ahead, M, at one end, screw-threaded at its opposite end, the nut N,fitted to said screw-threaded end of the pintle, a spiral spring aroundsaid pintle and between the ears of the one part, one end bearing uponone leaf, the other end turned inward and extending into the groove ofthepintlefthe pintle within one of the ears on the leaf 1) constructedwith one or more radial holes, (2, the ear with a corresponding hole, f,and the pin 71, substantially as and for the purpose described.

WILLIAM GILFI'LLAN. \Yitnesses:

(tins. L. BALDYIN, \VM. S. Coorcn.

